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Topic Review (Newest First)

04-28-2014 03:45 AM

Anticrobotic

Oh I'm having fun all right.

The only person I'm competing against is myself, because I want to push myself as hard and far as I possibly can. The reason? I'm going to Japan in Winter 2015, and I want to be as good as possible at that point to be able to enjoy it as much as possible. Yes, it's more fun when you're better, and doubly so in powder.

(Ok I'll admit that I'm competing against my girlfriend's dad who's an intermediate skier - he has a big mouth and there's nothing better than blowing past him on a red run. )

And absolutely, I need to ride more. But I live at the south of Sweden and the "season" is over since a long time ago. So I'm itching...

Indeed. I've noticed it's considerably easier to carve "more properly" on steeper runs. My toe carves are consistently better than my heel carves which is to be expected. My instructor in Val Thorens said I'm a bit too much over my front leg during my heelside turns which makes it hard to keep a proper carve throughout the turn. Also my posture in my upper back sucks, but I'm struggling...

To look smoother and more stylish, try not to throw the board around underneath you as much.

When you initiate the turn, let your upper body flow with the board keeping it nice and quiet and relaxed. Avoid rotating it or bending forward at the waist. Your upper body appears to by slightly rotated forward at most points in the clip. Aim to have your shoulders and hips completely inline with the board at all times.

Also focus on keeping even or slightly forward pressure. Your front leg looks straighter that your rear, keeping your posture symmetrical will help the turn initiate more positively, look more stylish and give you better overall balance. To assist with the even pressure, focus on feeling the pressure on the outsides of BOTH feet. This will place the most pressure on the tip and tail, giving you the control where you need it on the edge. When you feel the pressure on the outsides of your feet like this, it will force you to keep your knees a little out and bent a little.

When on your toe edge, feel your shins press into the tongue of the boot and rotate your hips forward (imagine you are taking a pee and don't want to get any on your boots), rather than bend forward at the waist and go on tip-toes. As you cross over the board your posture should show no obvious movement other than crossing over the board nicely stacked. keep up the good work!

Excellent pointers, thanks a lot! About the upper body alignment thing, the problem is that my neck gets more sore with every consecutive day I ride, and rotating my body is (partially) to relieve my neck muscles a bit. I'm always warming up properly and stretching afterwards, but I don't know what else to do. Anyone?

04-27-2014 04:05 PM

Slush Puppie

I would say you are shaping up to be a capable rider.

To look smoother and more stylish, try not to throw the board around underneath you as much.

When you initiate the turn, let your upper body flow with the board keeping it nice and quiet and relaxed. Avoid rotating it or bending forward at the waist. Your upper body appears to by slightly rotated forward at most points in the clip. Aim to have your shoulders and hips completely inline with the board at all times.

Also focus on keeping even or slightly forward pressure. Your front leg looks straighter that your rear, keeping your posture symmetrical will help the turn initiate more positively, look more stylish and give you better overall balance. To assist with the even pressure, focus on feeling the pressure on the outsides of BOTH feet. This will place the most pressure on the tip and tail, giving you the control where you need it on the edge. When you feel the pressure on the outsides of your feet like this, it will force you to keep your knees a little out and bent a little.

When on your toe edge, feel your shins press into the tongue of the boot and rotate your hips forward (imagine you are taking a pee and don't want to get any on your boots), rather than bend forward at the waist and go on tip-toes. As you cross over the board your posture should show no obvious movement other than crossing over the board nicely stacked. keep up the good work!

04-26-2014 10:52 AM

speedjason

I say you are doing pretty good. keep it up. nice place.

04-26-2014 10:48 AM

Donutz

That is one wide, mellow run. My wife would love that run. With that run, you're kind of limited once you reach a certain point. You could start learning ground tricks if you're getting bored -- there are lots of videos on youtube. Or you could start getting more edge on your turns and start trying to carve. You're bleeding off a lot of speed with each scarving turn.

04-26-2014 10:15 AM

Kevin137

Ok, well i have found the easiest way to push myself is to ride with people better than me, the problem with that is that you hold them back, so you have to have people that don't mind hanging around for you so much...

There is not really a lot that the video shows apart from stance and linking turns together, so not a lot that can really be said...

You have to remember that it is not a competition, about who can be fastest, who can jump the best etc, it is about fun...!!! You may be better at some things while others better at other things... Like i am not so good at jumping, but i am brain dead when it comes to speed. And will always be the fastest down the hill in a straight line, that doesn't make me a better border, just more comfortable at some things than others...

Rails scare the crap out of me, but i will go over them... Jumps the same, i will go over them, but get extremely scared on the approach...

Confidence is something that can get you hurt, but is also a good thing... More time on the snow is a given in that you will improve. But you will start to improve at a slower pace as you get better. That is just how it is...

For now, you are doing well, but i still think you rely on others opinions to push you, have fun, try new things and enjoy yourself...

04-26-2014 08:59 AM

killclimbz

Are you having fun? That is all that really matters. If you are worried about your skills, I just think you need to get out and snowboard more.

I think you read to much into what others think, if you are having fun, and feel you are progressing, then you should be happy...

Well...I don't care much for what other people think, but I do care about what more experienced riders see. And last time I got a few really good pointers that helped me a lot with my progress.

I'm an ok learner, and I'll use whatever it takes to learn faster: Classes, privates, online videos, forums, blogs... Right now I've become about as good as my girlfried - she's more experienced, controlled and stable, but I'm faster and more (park) gutsy. Looking forward to overtaking her and making her feel she needs to start pushing herself for real.

04-26-2014 05:57 AM

Kevin137

I think you read to much into what others think, if you are having fun, and feel you are progressing, then you should be happy...

What others think is irrelevant, the other thing is, that people progress at different rates, i am a slow learner, others learn fast...

Keep riding, keep pushing, and don't worry...

04-26-2014 05:46 AM

Anticrobotic

Watch my video & give me feedback

Watch my video, cringe, & give me feedback (Part II)

Dear Dudes & Dudettes,

Thought I'd repeat last year's success and kindly ask for some feedback on my riding based upon the video below. It's just on a green run - I would have preferred a red but my friend who's recording has just switched to snowboard so we had to do it on a run where he could keep up.

This is from my 23rd day snowboarding. The camera is a little unstable at the beginning but it gets better. HD version found on Vimeo.

By coincidence it was recorded on the same run as last year's video from my 8th day riding, which in retrospect is kind of fun for comparison. And just for the sake of it, my old thread can be found here.